Balfour, which is working on the Thames Tideway Tunnel and HS2, ran into trouble in 2014 after more than a decade of acquisition-led growth.

However, Mr Quinn said over the last three years the firm had "upgraded" its leadership and simplified its structure, selling off its Middle Eastern and Indonesian operations.

In its results, the firm suffered a one-off loss of £44m on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project contract as a result of Carillion's liquidation.

Balfour Beatty and its remaining joint venture partner on the project, Galliford Try, are obliged to complete work on the 58km dual carriageway.

However, Mr Quinn said Balfour had also benefited from Carillion's failure, as it had removed a "major competitor from the market that was underpricing us all".

Major competitor

Balfour has taken on 150 of Carillion's employees, who had worked with the firm on joint venture projects.

Mr Quinn said he blamed Carillion's collapse on a failure of leadership: "If you are driving the car and not looking at the gauges in front of you, and not understanding what's going on with your petrol and your speedometer, you're not actually doing the job you are paid to do."

He also said the government - a key customer to Carillion - needed to change the way it procured infrastructure projects and should "pre-qualify" suppliers on the quality of their balance sheet.

"There is a real structural issue here. Fundamentally, the government gives very little credence to the quality of your balance sheet," Mr Quinn said.

"You could be bidding against two men and a white van, and it's almost seen as a level playing field.

"It's quite clear that can't continue, and buying at the lowest price doesn't actually mean you get delivered what you think you bought."